First Private Property Fund Approved

Libya Herald reports that the Central Bank of Libya has given its approval to a LD 165-milion ($125-million) Islamic real estate fund, shares in which will be traded on the Tripoli Stock Exchange.

Founded by Assaray Bank which will take ten percent of the shares, the Sharia-compliant equivalent of a closed-end fund will invest in real estate development within the country and internationally.

It is the first private real estate fund in the country, and the managers, Tadawul Financial Services, say they expect it to be oversubscribed. Returns in the region of 20 percent are anticipated, according to the report.

Tadawul plans to market the fund to investors in March or April 2014 through a series of road shows. The international team of advisors assembled for the fund include Sharia Solutions of the UK, PWC and Hogan Lovells.

Several investors, including Libyan businessman Husni Bey, have already lined up to buy into fund.

Estates funds are ideally viable as an Islamic Product,” said Husni Bey, “so we opted to have this as an Islamic real estate fund”.